Cheney: "Iraq Better Off Today"

According to Tricky Dick II, Iraq is much better off today than under Saddam Hussein.

"I think Iraq is much better off than it was before we went in in '03 and got rid of Saddam Hussein," Cheney told host Bob Schieffer on the CBS program "Face the Nation."

"I think we are close to achieving most of our objectives," he added.

Violence and death in Iraq today are sharply down, Cheney said, while Iraqis are firmly on the path to democracy after decades of cruel and despotic rule under Saddam.

"We've seen a significant reduction in the overall level of violence, more now than any time since we've been there in the spring of '03," Cheney said. "We've seen the elimination of one of the world's worst regimes. We've seen the Iraqis write a constitution [and] hold three national elections."

"All of those things, I think, by anybody's standard would be evidence of significant success," Cheney said.

Oh really? And exactly what kind of dreamland are you living in Mr. Cheney?

You would think that reality and perhaps even remorse would start setting in after his Party was trounced in the November elections. But the Republicans continue to create their own reality when the reality on the ground is inconvenient. This is especially true for a tandem that is desperately seeking to craft a favorable legacy, after an 8 year train wreck.

Cheney's statements on Face the Nation this past Weekend couldn't be further from the truth. Is he still in denial, still tone deaf, or is he still getting that "Bad Intelligence" that they used (as scapegoat) for dragging the Country into this war in the first place?

I would like Cheney to tell the people of Iraq, particularly the women, that life is much better for them today.





Unfortunately, Americans aren't seeing enough of this kind of reporting that reflects the actual conditions in Iraq from the perspective of Iraqi's. I don't think most people in this Country can even begin to fathom the idea of their daughters selling their bodies on a daily basis just for something to eat, or becoming slaves to survive. It's a picture that's not even in the mental vocabulary of most Americans.

Hear a report from NPR about how women in Iraq are coping almost 6 years after the U.S. invasion.

Iraqi's are still faced with rationed electricity... with many households only receiving a few hours of power per day. Could you imagine American households today facing rolling Blackouts for 6 years straight and people not being able to live normal lives? It would be chaos in the streets. Spoiled Americans get highly upset and are ready to riot if they are left without power for 2 or 3 days after a storm.

Over the past few years we have seen report after report, and study after study, confirming that conditions in Iraq have deteriorated. In 2008, the Red Cross continued to report that the conditions on the ground for ordinary Iraqi's were dismal. Yes, violence against U.S. troops has dropped considerably. But living conditions for ordinary Iraqi's have not improved across the Country. Tens of thousands of Iraqi's remain displaced, both internally and throughout the Middle East. Many lack support from their own government, the UN, or from the U.S. The frustration about these conditions was expressed recently with the "shoe throwing" journalist.

The violence in Iraq has not completely gone away. Bombings and attacks continue. Just yesterday, a major bomb attack in Baghdad killed 36 people and wounded dozens more. The situation in Northern Iraq has deteriorated in recent months. Attacks in Mosul have recently intensified. Political assassinations also continue.

See the McClatchy News Service's Daily violence report to get a sense of the situation in Iraq. No other news service is doing the kind of work that McClatchy has been doing under the radar.

Hear about the conditions in Iraq from the people who know best.

Two detailed discussions from On Point Radio:

A Recent discussion with author/reporter Farnaz Fassihi.

and

Iraq- Voices from Within

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Additional Report

Conditions for Refugees in Syria